Chapter 4015 — A Private Inquiry
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
"Precisely. On this Far North Island, the only ones with the strength and the nerve to do such a thing are your Garrison of the North. Intercepting a handful of men is no more than lifting a finger for you. We are willing to put up ten thousand spirit jade as compensation for your trouble. What say you?" Manager Hao proposed with a respectful demeanor.
"Ten thousand spirit jade?" Steward Song raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Manager Hao, you said it yourself—on Far North Island, mine is the only house with the strength and the nerve. The moment I act, it means falling out with the Hong Clan Merchant Guild. Do you take Song for such a fool that I would openly offend the Hong Clan Merchant Guild for a paltry sum of spirit jade?"
Manager Hao, unruffled, spoke at leisure: "Steward Song need not worry. With our Anti-Hong Alliance in place, the Hong Clan Merchant Guild will soon cease to exist. Moreover, even if they learn that your Garrison of the North was behind it, their foremost enemy is us—there is no way they could spare the effort to deal with you, so far from the emperor's reach. Wouldn't you agree? Besides, this time you need not expend any manpower at all. Simply pass down an order and let the Garrison of the North on routine patrol pick up a little extra income along the way. Fifteen thousand—ahem, ten thousand spirit jade easily won. Why not?"
Steward Song could not help laughing at this. "Truly a seasoned man of business. There is some sense in what Manager Hao says. Only, you gentlemen seem to have forgotten one thing: Song and Manager Hong Zhong have been old acquaintances for decades. If not sworn brothers, then at the very least old friends. So..."
Every heart in the room lurched in unison: "So?"
Steward Song smiled faintly: "So to drop a stone on an old friend who has fallen into a well—do you gentlemen not think a few more spirit jade are in order?"
"Uh... so that's what it was." The assembly could not help but feel a sense of absurdity. Because the target was an old friend, the job not only had to be accepted but paid for at a higher rate—this Steward Song's logic was truly invincible.
"Certainly, certainly. Fifteen thousand spirit jade—Steward Song should be satisfied with that?" Manager Hao caught on and said hurriedly. An alliance of five top-ten guilds of the Merchant Alliance—such a sum of spirit jade was nothing at all to them.
"Then, gentlemen, wait here for word." Steward Song nodded in satisfaction and turned to go at once. To earn fifteen thousand spirit jade by casually giving an order—this was a pie dropped from the heavens. One would be a fool not to take it.
As for his being an old friend of Hong Zhong, that was no lie—but when someone delivers spirit jade to you for free, what reason is there to refuse?
The whole day passed in a flash. Manager Hao, Wang Tong, and the others had been gathered in the reception hall the entire time, waiting—yet the anticipated news never came.
Only when the sun sank in the west did they see Steward Song's figure slowly enter through the door, wearing an inexplicably amused smile: "The Garrison of the North has sounded the recall and withdrawn its troops, and Far North Island has been sealed. It seems the Hong Clan Merchant Guild will not be sending anyone to transport supplies before tomorrow's auction. As for the agreed fifteen thousand spirit jade, gentlemen, you may settle the bill now."
At these words, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. That Hong Zhong had no move left to make was, in theory, the most likely possibility, and naturally within their expectations. This fifteen thousand spirit jade was spent merely to buy peace of mind, to eliminate that last sliver of possibility.